Here are some comments by the participants in the recent Open
World Russian Leadership Exchange program. United Methodists participated
through the church-related Russia Initiative.

The Rev. Bruce Weaver, director of the United Methodist
Russia Initiative:
“I anticipate that 500 United Methodists throughout this country
participated in the Russian Initiative through the ‘Open World’
program who had never participated before. And they have said, ‘We
want to support the Russia United Methodist Church and the Russia
Initiative any way we can.’ Many of the Russian had no knowledge
of the United Methodist Church. Now they ask where the United Methodist
churches are in Russia.”

Tatiana Yurieva: “We’re trying to
build a democracy but many people [in Russia] don’t understand
what democracy stands for. People have to learn what it means. There’s
an old Russian proverb: ‘You can lead a horse to water, but
you can’t make him drink.’ That is like the Russian
people; we’re trying to lead the Russian people to democracy,
but…”

Host Victor Cordier, Dallas Texas, said in a good-bye
to the Russian visitors that he had been willing to lay down his
life to fight Communism. He had been a prisoner of war in a Communist
prison in Hanoi for six years. “But now I can visit Russia
as a friend.”

Lolita Yeremeyshvili: “We studied Christianity
at the university. But here people go to church every Sunday. I’m
surprised. They’re lucky. They know each other and do things
together. It’s good. Lots of activities.”

Hosts James and Louisa Salmon, Erie, Penn.: “Aldar
fed cattle, crawled to the top of the grain bin, saw wild turkeys
in a field, sat on a tractor and combine and took many pictures.
He also examined corn and soybean fields and toured a huge, old
barn. In the evening, a farm neighbor had a bonfire with corn and
a hot dog roast.”

James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress and initiator
of the Open World Program: “Bringing large numbers
of Russians to the United States avoids the patronizing syndrome
of sending Americans to Russia to tell the Russians how to run their
lives.”

Host Carol Cozad, Lewistown, Ill.: “Our
first conversation was my attempt to say hello in Russian…
It wasn’t long before we could begin to understand each other
in English. When Alex couldn’t translate a Russian word into
English or find it in the Russian dictionary, we just laughed at
each other and went on to another conversation. This lengthy conversation
caused him to have burned pork chops for his first meal. What an
embarrassment!”

Host Patricia DePew, Coppell, Texas: “We
didn’t need language. One of the women who stayed at our house
asked me one night if she could hug me. They had been told that
Americans don’t like physical contact. When I reached out
and gave her a big hug, she just melted.”